From the Scotsman 28 Oct – 2008
Certainly Rudolph Nureyev wanted to escape the outside world when he visited his St Barths retreat, perched on the rocks on the east coast of this Caribbean island. Today, it’s owned by Frenchwoman Jeanne Audy- Rowland, who, as a tribute, maintains it almost as he left it.
“It’s his house, not mine,” she says. Nureyev led a solitary existence and the interior is decorated in a very ascetic style. Outside, a deck, which Nureyev had built to dance on, overlooks the waves and is furnished with teak loungers. Everywhere, natural stripped wood predominates, looking as if it’s been bleached by the sun and salty surf – and in the living room a hammock is strung from wall to wall. Although it’s a simple look, it perfectly encapsulates the romance of living by the ocean.